Central Ohio Matters
Central Ohio Matters is a podcast where host Michelle Gatchell discusses the issues shaping Central Ohio's future. Each episode features in-depth conversations with local leaders, visionaries, and changemakers driving progress in Central Ohio. These conversations provide insights into the challenges facing our communities and the solutions being developed to move them forward.
Central Ohio Matters covers government policies, healthcare challenges, housing and business developments, transportation solutions, education, and innovation. It is your guide to understanding and engaging with the pulse of Central Ohio.
You can listen to Central Ohio Matters on WVXG 95.1 FM (Marion and Morrow Counties) and WDLR 96.7 FM, 1270 AM (Delaware, Franklin, Marion, and Union Counties).
Also, find it on your favorite podcast streaming sites.
Central Ohio Matters
Who Owns Your Unclaimed Money? The Constitutional Battle Over Ohio's $5 Billion Fund
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The controversial plan to use $1.7 billion from Ohio's unclaimed funds to build a Cleveland Browns stadium takes center stage in this episode. Attorney Mark Dan breaks down why this decision violates constitutional protections while explaining how citizens can search for and claim their own unclaimed money—money that rightfully belongs to them, not the state.
Beyond this political controversy, we dive into pressing summer health hazards with Delaware County Health Commissioner Garrett Ghiozzi. Learn why this year's tick season is breaking records, and how to remove a tick properly. Ghiozzi also shares surprising information about increased cases of rabies found in bats and the risks they pose, including what to do if you find one in your bedroom.
The conversation shifts to practical advice for managing summer electricity costs with AEP Ohio's Julia Ivinskis. Discover how Ohio's deregulated electricity market allows you to shop for better rates, and learn about the cutting-edge tools that let you track your home's energy usage down to 15-minute intervals—potentially saving you significant money during peak air conditioning season.
These three distinct conversations offer vital information for every Central Ohio resident: protecting your constitutional rights to unclaimed money, safeguarding your family's health from seasonal hazards, and managing your household budget during expensive summer months. Subscribe to Central Ohio Matters for more in-depth conversations about the issues shaping our region's future.
Welcome to Central Ohio Matters , the podcast where we delve into the issues that shape Central Ohio's future . Each episode features in-depth conversations with local leaders , visionaries and changemakers driving progress in our region . These conversations offer insights into the challenges our communities face and the solutions being crafted to move them forward . Here's your host , michelle Gatchel .
Speaker 2We've got a great show for you today . We're going to talk , have three different guests . We'll talk to the Delaware County Health Commissioner about things we need to be aware of when we're out and about this summer as far as insects and animals , and then we're going to talk to AEP Ohio about things we can do to help control the costs from rising on
Unclaimed Funds Used for Cleveland Stadium
Speaker 2our bill . But first , the news has been a buzz about budgets passing both on the federal and state level , and part of the state budget bill includes an area that says they're going to pull money from the unclaimed fund account and utilize it to build a stadium in Cleveland , a dome stadium , which we don't have up there . But the question is , can they just take this money out of this fund that is in there because people haven't claimed it yet and it obviously belongs to people ? Well , joining me right now to discuss that idea is Mark Dan from Dan Law in Cleveland , ohio . Mark , thank you so much for joining me .
Speaker 3Michelle , thanks for having me . I , just before we start , I want , for the record , want to make clear that I'm a rabid Cleveland Browns fan and Browns season ticket holder . So this isn't about how I feel about the Cleveland Browns . This is about how I feel about stealing people's money to give to billionaires .
Speaker 2That's just it . So the question really does lie in the fact of one the unclaimed funds account , or is full of money that people , that companies or entities had and couldn't track down who it belongs to . So the state now has it in escrow , basically . So for me , I know , for I have about 12 things in there that I haven't figured out how to get out yet . They're all below $25 each . So in a way I'm thinking , ah , do I need to collect that ? But I bet you there's a ton of that stuff that adds up to this money that they're utilizing .
Speaker 3I bet you there's a ton of that stuff that adds up to this money that they're utilizing . Yeah , there's actually like $5 billion in that account and it started 32 years ago , so it goes back . Some of it goes back 30 years A lot of money that's older than 10 or 20 years . And that's the money that , as of January 1st of 2026 , the state's going to steal 20% of that $1.7 billion and put it into an account to use for the Brown Stadium and for other sports and entertainment facilities . And again , you know and I think that was in order to pay off a campaign contribution that Jimmy Haslam made to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate when they were trying to stop the referendum against gerrymandering , so they gave them about $300,000 in exchange that the state's going to give the Browns $600 million , which is a pretty good deal . I'd love to get something like that for my business as well , but the problem is the way they chose to pay off .
Speaker 3That debt is unconstitutional . The money in the unclaimed funds belongs to the citizens who are entitled to it , not to the state , and actually the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled seven to zero that that's the case in the SOG versus ZERS case several years ago . So it's very clear that money is not the states to use or to borrow or to steal , and changing the law isn't going to make it any more constitutional . It's unconstitutional for really three reasons . One is because it's a taking and the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution and Ohio's Constitution both prohibit taking of property by the government without compensation to the citizen from whom it's taken . The second is that if you're going to do a taking , you have to provide due process of law to the people from whom you're taking the items . Here there is very little due process , as you've learned , trying to collect money out of the fund . There's no notice , affirmative notice , given to people that have money in the fund . They used to publish the names in the newspaper but they don't even do that anymore and it's a labyrinth process to try to get money out of there and not everybody is successful at doing that . So it's it's and not everybody knows they have money in that fund and so giving notice to people and giving them an opportunity for a jury trial on the taking . And there's millions of people who have money , who have money in that account , not just in Ohio but throughout the country and throughout the world . So so it's a due process violation to take it without giving people that opportunity .
Speaker 3And then the third issue is when you add something to a bill that's not related to the subject matter of that bill . So House Bill 96 , which became the budget , is a bill about a budget . It's not a bill about the unclaimed funds account or the stadium or the Cleveland Browns . And so under the single subject rule of the Ohio Constitution , which is still good law , it may be unconstitutional ab initio because it was included in a long rolling exercise in a bill to which it was completely unrelated . So we're challenging all three of those components of the law .
Speaker 2And for people that are listening right now where do they go to even check if they have unclaimed funds ?
Speaker 3Well , there's a website , it's easy . Google unclaimed funds , ohio . And there's a website and it's fairly easily searchable Although I'm not sure that the information in there is complete , based on some information that we got yesterday . And then you can look up your name . But I would also look up your name under potential misspellings . Like , my name is Mark with a C , but there may have been money with Mark under Mark with a K and there may be money with addresses that aren't mine in there as well . So there's lots of different ways to search that database , but you should do it and then you can make an application for the funds .
Speaker 3However , they require a great deal of information and proof . For example , I have some funds in there , but I have to provide some proof that I owned a house 20 years ago with a utility bill or something like that . Well , I don't keep those kinds of records around . I don't think many people do anymore and as a lawyer I know you can go to the county recorder's office and pull the deed , but how many people really know that or have the time to do that , to be able to prove that they lived at that address at that period of time ? So it's very difficult to get the money out of there .
Speaker 3That's why I think that the state ought to , if they're going to take this money which I don't think they should , because there's kind of a fourth reason why they shouldn't do it either . Building a stadium for a private business like the Cleveland Browns is not a public purpose . So the state's not allowed to take your stuff or your money or your property for anything unless it's for a public purpose . So I think we can prove that as well . But I think people should try to get in there and get it . But the state should make it much , much easier . They should notify everybody . Give them a day in court . Now that would mean they'd have to file a million separate appropriations proceedings . But if they really want to steal the money of Ohioans , that's the way they have to do it .
Speaker 2But would that even work ? For instance , the things I have in there , like you , they're like an old address that I have nothing to do with anymore . So even if I had my day in court , could I really prove that it was my money in some way shape or form ? Right ?
Speaker 3court . Could I really prove that it was my money in some way , shape or form ? Right , yeah , that's that's and that's the challenge , and and they make a kind of a subjective decision in the end . And I have no , no , no beef with the people that work at the unclaimed funds , right , or Sherry , or Sherry Maxfield , who you and I both know who's the director of commerce . You know she's a , she's a great administrator and I'm sure they want to do a great job , but they , they're very limited in what they do and they don't provide people with notice .
Speaker 2So what does this mean ? I mean , you know , here we are at this point . Next year , like you mentioned , they're going to take out this money for and the money is going to be from anything that is unclaimed 10 years and older Right , and the money is going to be from anything that is unclaimed 10 years and older .
Speaker 3Right , that's right . So what they're going to replace the property right with is a promise that the state will pay them . Well , if you've ever loaned money to a relative , you know how reliable those kind of promises can be . Sometimes they'll pay you back and sometimes your relatives won't , because the next General Assembly in the next budget could just change that and say we're not going to pay it back , we're just going to keep the money that's more than 10 years old . So there's no but with a property right , then all these constitutional protections attach , and so there's a huge change . That's going to happen when they take that $1.7 billion out of that account on January 26th– I'm sorry , january 1st of 26th and they're in a hurry to do it . They actually already formed a separate commission to administer those funds
Constitutional Issues with Taking Unclaimed Funds
Speaker 3. So in the few days since the budget passed , they're moving fast because they don't wanna be held accountable , they don't want the court to be able to weigh in and they wanna get your money before any of us can have our day in court .
Speaker 2Hmm , and believe you me , like you , I am a Browns fan and I would love to see a domed stadium up there to tell you know , can go in all weather . The Senate and the House have committees . Did they not talk about the legalities of this and these things ?
Speaker 3Well , there is a . There is some LSC memos that say a lot of what I , what we're saying in our lawsuit that were issued during the conference committee process , but this came up very late in the game . There were no hearings in the House ever on this . There were hearings , it was part of the Senate's substitute bill , but again it was log , rolled in with all kinds of other things into the 5,000-page budget bill , and so there was no meaningful hearing on this . There was no meaningful opportunity for people to weigh in , but anybody who did weigh in weighed in against it .
Speaker 3For example , the National Association of State Treasurers sent a letter to the General Assembly asking them not to include this provision , saying that it's bad policy for the state to steal unclaimed funds from citizens . The National Association of Unclaimed Funds Administrators not just Ohio's , but from all over the country . They weighed in and said that this would be a very unique and quick taking of funds compared to any place else in the country . And so what little information that the legislature had when they made this middle of the night decision . It was all contrary to the decision that they made .
Speaker 2Wow , so when will you be filing ?
Speaker 3We've already filed . So the lawsuit was filed Monday and it's going to be heard in Franklin County . We're going to soon file a motion for a preliminary injunction because we want to stop this from going forward on January 1st . My expectation is that the state and the defendants , which include the administrators of that fund , will ask the court for a motion to dismiss . I mean , this is very much a purely legal question , so we will . Hopefully the judge will decide this on the law and won't be required to take a long time or have a lot of discovery or a trial or anything like that . Yeah , I mean , either we're right or they're right on the law and if we're , if the judge finds that we're right , I guarantee you they're going to appeal it , because that's what Senate President McCauley is already threatened .
Speaker 2Yeah , so how can people follow this ?
Speaker 3Well , if you're interested , we can we send updates . So if you , if you go to the Dan Law dot com black slash contacts and give your information , say you want to be kept update on the unclaimed funds , you can . You can do that . You know this has been very closely followed by the media , that this has been very closely followed by the media and so I have no doubt that as developments occur , that they will be widely publicized as well . Plus , you can also look at the Franklin County Clerk of Courts docket and you'll see everything that gets filed in the case there .
Speaker 2All right , well , mark , thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to us , and we'll be watching to see how it ends .
Speaker 3Thank you , michelle , good to hear from you .
Speaker 2In other news , we are going to the Delaware
Delaware Health Commissioner on Summer Hazards
Speaker 2Public Health District and talking to the health commissioner there . So we are talking to Garrett Ghiozzi , who is the health commissioner at Delaware Public Health District . And , Garrett , thank you so much for joining me .
Speaker 4Yeah thanks for having me , Michelle .
Speaker 2I know we talked to you a couple weeks back about , you know , health risks in the heat and in the sun , but I wanted to touch on other things that people should be aware of during the summer months that could cause a possible health risk , and I noticed on your website that last month you guys did a spray to kill mosquitoes in one of the Delaware County townships , and so let's start there with mosquitoes .
Speaker 4Yeah , I mean we're out there throughout the entire county doing some trapping in various locations every week . We collect those mosquitoes and then we test them in-house here specifically for West Nile virus . And so the spraying you mentioned , we generally only spray as a result of a positive West Nile virus test . The easiest thing we can do is to sort of limit our exposure the best we can to those creatures . Eliminate standing water there's , eliminate standing water using EPA registered insect repellents , making sure that we're avoiding peak mosquito time , which right now in Ohio is the early morning hours and late evening hours , to really kind of not put us in harm's way of excess mosquitoes .
Speaker 2So they're kind of a sunrise , sunset critter .
Speaker 4Yeah , that's when they're most active , and so for mosquito spraying , we generally try to spray in the late evening hours , when they are out and about , when the weather is normally a few degrees cooler . I don't know if that's the case this week , but that's when you'll see our team out spraying . In the event , we have a positive West Nile virus mosquito .
Speaker 2And what is West Nile virus ? What happens if someone gets it ?
Speaker 4Yeah , I mean most of the time you're looking at headaches , some nausea signs and symptoms of that . So a lot of the spraying we do is to prevent or kill off those mosquitoes that have tested positive . So we do that preventative work . We also treat things like storm ditches and retention ponds with larvicide to really stop those mosquitoes from developing into full-grown adults where they are able to then transmit West Nile virus . Most of that comes from birds , mosquitoes on many different types of animals , and so we see that transmission there for West Nile virus .
Speaker 2And you mentioned the larvicide . So for people in their own yards , what are some tips that they could act upon to prevent mosquitoes ?
Speaker 4Yeah , the number one tip is to remove standing water , really making sure that if you do have standing water , you're at least flushing it or rinsing it . We often see this with bird baths . Frankly , old tires around the county hold standing water as well as rain barrels , and so they can get residential commercial larvicide tablets . But really the easiest thing to do is really remove that standing water . And then things like protecting your home . If you have screens , making sure that the screens are intact , you can purchase a repair kit to cover up or fix your holes in your screen door . Repair kit to cover up your or fix your holes in your screen door . Those are really the easiest , best recommended solutions for removing the risk of increased mosquito populations .
Speaker 2What are some other insects that we should be ?
Speaker 4wary of . Oh , right now we're in the midst of tick season . There's certainly no shortage of ticks out there . Our tick reporting is through the roof . We get calls all the time on people finding ticks from their yards , from parks , from pretty much anywhere , and so really you know understanding
Tick Season and Disease Prevention
Speaker 4what the tick is and you know inspecting yourself after you've been outside . If you do find a tick on you , properly removing it , cleaning the area , keeping that tick so we can help you identify it and understand the risk of possible disease transmission . And then showering , making sure you're cleaning yourself off . You're checking your hair , your neck , any exposed area of your bodies if you are wearing shorts around your ankles , wrists . But ticks are extremely prevalent this year , I think .
Speaker 2It used to be . I used to be terrified of trying to remove a tick because you hear horror stories if you don't remove it properly . What are some suggestions where people either what they should do or places they can go to read about what they should do ?
Speaker 4Yeah , so on our website we have a direct link to a wonderful video on how to properly remove a tick . You really want to make sure you're using proper equipment , things like really pointy clean tweezers being able to grab the full amount of the tick and then pulling directly out , really trying to prevent yanking or ripping . But yeah , on our website , on social media , we've shared this as well . Definitely tons of videos out there on how to properly remove that tick and then what are some of the things that ticks can give you ?
Speaker 4So the most common tick we have in Ohio is the black-legged tick , which is also known as the deer tick . The number one disease of that tick is Lyme disease and we have seen a steady increase about through the last 10 years of more reported Lyme disease cases . And then , you know , when we look at another common tick in Ohio , which is the dog tick , it can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever . And so we really want to make sure that if you do find a tick you can let us know and we can help you identify that . We do not test ticks here locally for a specific disease , but knowing the type of tick can help us point you in the right direction for possible treatment . If you do find a tick on you and it is a certain type that may transmit Lyme disease , for example , do we have reported Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Delaware .
Speaker 4So this year we do have one reported case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and we do have reported cases of Lyme disease . Just for reference , in 2024 we had 26 cases of Lyme disease just in Delaware County , and then this data is actually updated monthly on the Ohio Department of Health's website . So all of these diseases are reportable , which means that if you go to your family physician or the emergency room , or or if someone diagnosed you with Lyme disease , that information is reported and and we we get that so we would do an investigation to see maybe when you were exposed . But all of that is actually uploaded by cases per county on the Ohio Department of Health's website .
Speaker 2OK , great . And then are there things volunteer type things that people can do for the health department locally .
Speaker 4Yeah , we're always looking for good volunteers . I think maybe you're well aware we are out at tons of festivals throughout the entire county . We do operate our Medical Reserve Corps , which the name is a little bit of a misnomer because you don't have to be a medical provider to be part of the Medical Reserve Corps but this really is a core group of volunteers that we rely on to help staff certain events . But although also in the event of an emergency , we can call upon this core group of volunteers to run an exercise or a shelter or , you know , really work an event or a flu drive it could be really anything . But we're always looking for volunteers for our Medical Reserve Corps to really bolster the support we can provide to our community .
Speaker 2What is the health department's website that people can go to to get more information ?
Speaker 4Sure , that's gonna be delawarehealthorg . All of our information is readily available and it's also readily available on pretty much any social media site you have access to . We're definitely out there on Facebook and Instagram sharing this information daily , both from the health district but also from our trusted partners throughout the county and state .
Speaker 2Both on social media and the website ? How often do you put out safety alerts , health alerts ?
Speaker 4So it depends for health alerts . Obviously , anytime we have a positive West Nile virus we put out a press release for that . If we're seeing some unique increases we may share some specific social media to that . Just already this year we did post a tick awareness graphic that highlighted the last five years worth of Lyme disease cases , so we're trying to bring attention to that . We do publish a physician newsletter that just went out last week to all of our medical providers in Delaware County , kind of just sharing general information with those medical practitioners , reporting information , how to contact us , things we're looking at and monitoring through the community .
Speaker 2Is there an email for people to sign up for to get regular updates ? Is there ?
Speaker 4an email for people to sign up for to get regular updates . Yeah , so on our website they are able to go on and select
Bat Concerns and Rabies Safety
Speaker 4an option to be subscribed to our newsletter and we publish that newsletter once a month . Okay , so we kind of do a nice summary of all of the things that have happened in the month and then activities for the upcoming month .
Speaker 2Great , Anything . I missed that we should talk about Garrett .
Speaker 4The only thing I would add is not only have we seen an increase of ticks , but we've also seen an increase of bats . Oh , really , let's talk about bats . Yeah , so you know , with bats in particular , we really worry about rabies transmission . We have not had a human case of rabies , but what we have seen , which is consistent for the last number of years , is more bats testing positive for rabies . We've put out a bunch of information on our website and on social media , basically about saying what should you do if you find a bat in your house , and so that information is really important . We will test bats for rabies , and so there's a whole sort of process on reporting that to the health department for a potential rabies exposure , us collecting the bat and then sending it off to the lab to be tested . But you know , bats are , I think , becoming I don't know if they're becoming more common or we're going to where they are , but we definitely get more and more reports of bats each year .
Speaker 2Now it used to be , and maybe it still is , that bats were a really good thing because they ate the insects .
Speaker 4They absolutely are . They are a good thing . They do eat tons of insects and mosquitoes and they definitely have their place . But from the human perspective , bats are the number one transmitter of rabies and so we worry about that transmission . This is especially true if you worry about that transmission . This is especially true if you , for example , find a bat in your bedroom and you've been sleeping . We consider that an exposure . Oftentimes bat bites are really tiny and if you're asleep you may not have been known that you've been bitten by a bat . So we ask people to safely as best they can , if it's possible , to collect that bat , provide that to us and then we can provide some follow up medical care for you if you are exposed to a bat that way . But you know , if you find a bat outside , leave it be , don't touch it , don't pick it up . Bats are not pets . We really want to make sure we get that message out there .
Speaker 2All right . So rabies have there been reported rabies cases with animals ?
Speaker 4then Animals yes , so we this year . I don't think we have any so far , but last year we had a handful of positive rabies bats that were collected and submitted to our office that we sent off for testing . Not that that's I wouldn't say it's common by any means , but we have seen an uptick in the number of bats that have come back positive .
Speaker 2Okay , well , garrett , again , thank you so much for giving us these great updates , and we'll have to have you back on in a month or so and see how it's changing . That sounds great .
Speaker 4I appreciate it .
Speaker 2Switching gears
AEP Ohio's Electricity Savings Tips
Speaker 2. Here we're going to talk about our electric . You know , in the summer we use a lot of electric with air conditioners and all sorts of things . So I'm talking to Julia Ivinskis , who is the Customer and External Affairs Manager for AEP Ohio . You have such good information on your website . One of the things that I saw on here was understanding your electric bill . One of the things that I saw on here was understanding your electric bill . I mean it sounds simple , but I loved reading it because it tuned me into some stuff I didn't even think about .
Speaker 5Yeah . So , understanding your electric bill , it's , I think , a very important piece , especially in the state of Ohio , where you have the option to shop for your generation supplier . So Ohio's generation is deregulated in the state of Ohio . So AAP Ohio actually doesn't own any power plants we don't . You know that generation portion of the bill . It's up to the consumer to shop for the supplier that they want to go with . So we actually always encourage our customers to educate themselves . The PUCO's website is a great , great resource . There's an apples to apples comparison where you can see the different generation providers that are available in your area and then you can find something that's right for your home or your business's electricity needs .
Speaker 2Where are we this summer as far as pricing ? What are you seeing out there in the market ? Where ?
Speaker 5are we this summer ? As far as pricing , what are you seeing out there in the market ? So , with the ability to shop here in Ohio , it just varies depending on who your supplier is . If you don't choose a supplier , we do have a standard service offer for a generation that you're just automatically enrolled in , for generation that you're just automatically enrolled in . But that's why we would definitely encourage people to go to the PUCO's website , because it'll actually list a breakdown of all the different suppliers and what they're charging , you know , per kilowatt hour , for that generation portion of your bill .
Speaker 2So I kind of want to end on a little bit of a fun thing . You guys have Forestry Fridays and you've partnered with the Columbus Zoo . Can you tell us a little bit about what that ?
Speaker 5is , yeah , forestry Fridays . It's a very , very exciting thing that we've done for a couple of years now with the Columbus Zoo and we take browse from some of the vegetation that we've removed during our tree trimming process and we actually get to feed it to the giraffes at the Columbus Zoo . So we get some of our foresters out there and other team members . We invite the public and if you ever go to the zoo there's usually a line to stand in line and to feed the giraffes because it's such a popular thing . But on Fridays once a month throughout the summertime we do those events . So we just had one last Friday , which was just last Friday , and then the next one will be July 25th . So mark your calendars and then we'll have another trim to treat event on Friday , august 29th as well . So it's always a fun time getting up close to the giraffes .
Speaker 2I bet . And you know , reuse and repurpose . That's a great example .
Speaker 5Definitely , definitely one of the more fun things that we get to do around here .
Speaker 2Well , tell everybody the website that they can go to to find out more information in general about AEP Ohio .
Speaker 5Yep , aepohiocom . That's your starting point . You know , if you have an account with us too , you make sure you create an account if you don't already have one , and from there , besides some of the savings opportunities that I mentioned , you can also log in and see what's called our energy dashboard , and if you have one of our smart meters which most of our customers do at this point you can actually see your usage almost in real time . You can see it down to 15 minute intervals of how much electricity you're consuming . So that's another thing , actually , that customers find really helpful when they're trying to be conscientious of how much electricity that they're using , because you can see throughout the day what your usage patterns are and then just equate that to . You know what appliances you may have had running at the time .
Speaker 2So always gotta give a plug out to our energy dashboard on our website at aepohiocom oh my god , a new obsession for me , I'll be like checking my energy it's a fun tool , definitely a fun tool well , julia , I want to thank you so much for joining us and keeping us updated on things we can do to help you know .
Speaker 5Reduce our bills Absolutely . Thank you so much , Michelle .
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to this episode of Central Ohio Matters . Be sure to like , share and download . If you know of a good story we should be talking about , go to the radio station website and fill out a contact form Directed to Michelle Gatchel , host of Central Ohio Matters . Thank you .